


3 Times Clint had to pry Tony out of his lab (+1 time he didn't have to)

by Banashee



Series: Tear Down The Walls (IronHawk Verse) [3]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 3+1 Things, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 23:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18974392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banashee/pseuds/Banashee
Summary: Tony spends a lot of time in his lab. Which is fine, but sometimes he needs a bit of help to get out of there and rest. Thankfully, he's got Clint now.Or:3 Times Clint had to pry Tony out of his lab (+1 time he didn't have to)-"Come on, before you accidentally blow yourself up.""Not that tired.""Not taking any chances. JARVIS, is there anything on fire or about to explode that we need to take care of first?" Clint is asking the AI while he simply pulls Tony to his feet, who slumps into him.''Not that tired' my ass' he thinks, and is relieved by the negative answer he gets. So he maneuvers them both into the elevator and into the penthouse as fast as possible, so they can crash.---Trigger Warnings are in the notes





	3 Times Clint had to pry Tony out of his lab (+1 time he didn't have to)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,  
> and thanks for reading!
> 
> Please note that there are trigger warnings for this one.
> 
> \- alcoholism/ past alcoholism  
> \- brief mentions of dead bodys, blood and violence  
> \- PTSD  
>  \- if you'd like me to tag anything else, please let me know

**3 Times Clint had to pry Tony out of his lab (+1 time he didn't have to)**

 

1)

Tony is sitting in his lab and humming to a tune that's been stuck in his brain for days now.

He's working on some new trick arrow designs, and suddenly thumps his head on said table and lets out a loud sigh.

"Damn you, Clint."

 

It's not the arrows, those are fine, thank you very much.

But Clint left for a SHIELD mission three days ago, and spent the hours before his departure down here to build some practice arrows for the range, all old-fashioned handiwork. Which is nothing bad at all, because they get to spend time together and still get shit done.

The thing is. Clint has a habit of singing while he works down here. That in itself isn't a bad thing either, because he does have a lovely voice. But... Country songs.

Cheesy, get-stuck-in-your-head-in-two-seconds-flat country songs.

 

Now, while Tony chooses to listen to Heavy Metal more often than not, he can tolerate a lot of genres if they happen to play in the room. Most of them. Enjoys even quite a few, more or less secretly.

This though... He wants to put a screwdriver in his brain to get rid of the melody.

He constantly has to remind himself that he loves Clint. He really does, even with this major flaw. Even though that means having to live with the fact that there will be annoying tunes stuck in his head for the foreseeable future.

 

*+~

 

_The first time he caught himself humming 'Burning Man' it was on a private jet to a Stark Industries meeting and he'd only caught on, because Pepper kept giggling into her Coffee cup and shooting him very amused looks, before she finally asked him, completely straight faced, if there was anything keeping his mind occupied._

_He blinked a few times in response, and then groaned loudly when it hit him what he'd just done._

_"Oh god, it's stuck in my head. Help me."_

_"Not a chance." Pepper was grinning at him, and hummed a few lines, before she got back to her laptop._

 

*+~

 

The thing is. Clint is observant. Because that's his nature, and he gets paid for it, so. He notices things.

To be fair, he didn't mean to torture his boyfriend with his musical outbreaks. At first. Because, as it turns out, it can be quite useful.

It's one of those days where Tony just doesn't come to an end with his work. Sleep, food or rest in general are the last things he's thinking about right now.

 

"Hey Babe, wanna go grab dinner?"

Barely audible mumble is the answer, and Clint raises an eyebrow. Then his face lights up with an evil grin.

"So I've heard this new song. Kinda cute, real catchy. I could sing it to you."

Tonys head whips up.

"What?!"

Clint keeps grinning at him, and Tony narrows his eyes.

 

The archer makes true of his threat, and the result is just like he hoped. Tony jumps up, whining "Okay, okay, stop! I'll go have dinner with you and go to sleep at a reasonable time, just stooop!" all the way to the door.

He arrives upstairs faster than Clint, because he gets left behind in the lab, laughing his ass off.

 

*+~

 

2)

 

The entire laboratory looks like it just got hit by a hurricane. Bits and pieces of tech, discarded clothes and snack wrappers are littering the floor, and it smells like something has been burning in there.

Clint enters cautiously and looks around.

Tony is sitting on his desk, looking a greasy and disheveled mess with bags under his eyes, poking something with a screwdriver and it doesn't look like he's entirely aware of what he's doing. He looks up and blinks a few times at Clint, who's sidestepping the mess to get to him.

That gets him a smile, and a kiss to the forehead when he leans into the touch.

 

"Long day?" There are gentle fingers cradling through his hair, detangling the greasy knots that have formed by now. It feels amazing, and he kinda doesn't want it to stop.

Tony is humming in response, and wrapping one arm around the other man's waist.

"Work to do." He's tired and slurring his words a bit, but his breathing evens out.

"Oh hey, you're back from the OP." he realizes, and smiles tiredly in the side of his shirt.

"Yeah, I just got in. JARVIS said you've been down here for a while."

Tony is humming again. "Gonna drag me out?" he asks.

"If I have to. When did you sleep last?"

"Fuck if I know. Bed's empty."

 

Clint sighs quietly. This might be one of the hard parts of their life – sleeping alone when they're separated by their schedules or missions, after they got used to being together. They knew from the start what they've signed up for, but still. He's happy to be back.

There’s a beat of silence. "Not anymore. Come on, before you accidentally blow yourself up."

"Not that tired."

"Not taking any chances. JARVIS, is there anything on fire or about to explode that we need to take care of first?" Clint is asking the AI while he simply pulls Tony to his feet, who slumps into him.

''Not that tired' my ass' he thinks, and is relieved by the negative answer he gets. So he maneuvers them both into the elevator and into the penthouse as fast as possible, so they can crash.

 

*+~

 

3)

 

The music playing is too loud, and the doors are on lockdown.

Tony is still wearing his undersuit from his armor, the Iron Man suit crumpled in bits and pieces, partly on the table in front of him, partly on the floor where the dropped it.

It's been hours since they returned from their last battle, and his hands are fucking shaking. He's trying to focus on his work and just stop thinking (' _stop it stop it stop it stop it'_ ) but the images are burned in his head and they stay, all bold and vivid colours.

 

'D _ead, they're all dead, you're useless, do something, people are dead because of you'_

 

The screwdriver he's holding rolls out of his grip and onto the floor. Tony just stares at the table top in front of him and doesn't do anything about it. All he can see is the blood on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and the small, curled up bodys of all the children they couldn't help fast enough.

 

The breath he sucks in is shaky, and his vision starts swimming. He wants a drink.

' _Useless, useless, useless. It's your fault._ ' his brain keeps whispering, and he wants to deny it, but he can't.

Shaking his head, he scrambles up from his chair, crosses the room on shaky legs and starts to search through the supply cupboard. Maybe there is a bottle of something he forgot all those years ago... Realizing what he is about to do, he jerks back.

' _Useless, weak!_ ' the voice in his head is screeching at him and he crumbles to the floor, sitting there and staring ahead with sad, empty eyes.

 

Music is still blaring through the room, swallowing the noises of clattering metal from above, the body dropping from the vents and the footsteps crossing the room.

JARVIS stops the song then, so that Tony can hear the rustling of clothes and doesn't startle at the familiar hand touching his arm. He turns his head, and Clint sits next to him, looking worried, and just as sad.

"Come on, let's go to sleep." he offers quietly, but Tony shakes his head at that.

"I can't. We failed, I didn't do enough, I have to... I need to..." he trails off, because he doesn't know what he needs to do. Something. Anything.

He's getting pulled in close, and hugs back hard, hands fisted in the back of his partners shirt.

"It's not your fault Tony."

"Feels like it."

"It's not. These things are, sometimes... Sometimes things just go wrong and there is nothing we can do about it. We did what we could, all of us, and it wasn't enough. It's unfair and it sucks, but this is not your fault. Okay?" The words are spoken quietly and with a sadness matching his own in them.

 

He doesn't know what he wants to say about that. But the words that are leaving his lips are,

"I almost drank tonight. I've been sober for years but I started looking for booze in here." and vaguely gestures to the still open cupboard in front of them. His eyes are burning, and he's utterly ashamed of himself.

 

"Please come upstairs with me. You don't have to do this alone, I promise."

And because he doesn't know what else to do, he just nods. Clint ends up taking most of his weight, half walking, half carrying him to the elevator. He keeps an arm around him at all times, carefully rubbing small circles on his back. It's also mostly him that gets Tony into their apartment, out of his clothes and into the shower.

The hot water washes away the sweat, grime and dried up blood from the battle. Tony is apathetic at this point, but he's being held up, and Clint keeps talking to him while he's taking care of the washing up, gentle hands and a strong hold.

"You're not alone" , "I love you." and "We're all here for you."

He's also responsible for them getting dried up and dressed again, so they can finally tangle up under the blankets to hide from the world.

 

It's no surprise that the nightmares are coming. They startle him awake at night, and they linger even when he's awake, but there is always the warm body of his lover right there to hold him through them.

The next day, he calls the number of his old therapist, the one who helped him after Afghanistan. He get's an appointment for the following morning. He also spends more downtime with the entire team – it's easier to do this with help, and given time, he will be okay.

Their support system works out.

 

*+~

 

 

+1)

 

When the front door opens, Tony steps into the hallway with a smile, just in time for Clint, still in his SHIELD uniform, to turn around and be greeted with an armful of Billionaire, who literally takes a running start to jump on him.

A startled laugh is the response, and they both fall to the floor in a tangled mess of body parts and then they kiss like they haven't seen each other in weeks – which is accurate.

The OP took way longer than expected, and then JARVIS had interrupted Tony in the middle of a Suit Update to inform him that Clint was on the way home, which lead him to run up and wait for him.

 

Just seconds later, an excited bark is the only warning, and then they're both tackled back to the ground by Lucky, who's trying his hardest to jump on their lap, run around them and lick Clint's face at the same time.

He let's him.

 

"Hey there, both of you." He's got a happy smile on his face, and he's in one piece, which is always a win. Turning to Tony, while scratching his besotted dog behind one ear, he says,

"It's nice when someone else besides the dog is excited when I get home, lemme tell you that."

"Took you long enough, we were lonely here!" is the cheerful response, followed by another kiss, and they can't keep their hands off each other for any longer.

Clint is running his hand through Tony's hair, which is a lot shorter than it usually is.

 

"So, is that a fashion choice or did you set yourself on fire?" he asks, feeling the stubble and shooting the other man a lopsided grin.

"Would you believe me if I'd go with option one?"

"Nope, I know you too well for that. Are you okay?"

"Nothing hurt but my pride and hair."

"Aww, poor you." he teases, and laughs into their kiss. Lucky headbutts him in the stomach and paws at him for more pets. Naturally, Clint happily obeys.

 

They make it up from the floor and a few steps further into the apartment and to the nearest wall, where they stop for some more passionate kisses.

"Do you want to eat?" Tony asks in between, and gets a small smile.

"Not food." Clint says, and lightly shoves his knee in between Tony's legs.

 

"Lucky me."

 

 

END

 


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